CHIÈVRES, Belgium -- "One great thing about the Army is that you always learn something. Every day something new is happening. There is a new enemy so you have to keep up, and be one step ahead," said Army Sgt. Teshae McCullough. "You learn to fight enemies in different ways, because no fight will be equal or fair," she added.
From Feb. 26 to March 9, the 39th Signal Battalion hosted the Benelux Tactical Combatives Course on Chièvres Air Base, Belgium. Fifteen students were enrolled in the course, all from different units and services of U.S. Army Garrison Benelux.
The Tactical Combatives Course is the second level of the Modern Army Combatives Program. All of the students in attendance already completed the 40 Hour Basic Combatives Course.
"The mission of the U.S. Army Combatives Course is to train leaders and Soldiers in close quarters combatives in order to instill the warrior ethos and prepare Soldiers to close with and defeat the enemy in hand-to-hand combat," said Army 1st Sgt. Jason Melton.
According to Army Spc. Toure Mohamed, the training can improve his Soldier skills. "My reaction time will be faster, I will not be stuck in a situation and wonder what I should and should not do," he said.
Day after day, Staff Sgt. Ernest Galloway, primary instructor for the course, and assistant instructors provided explanations for the techniques addressed in the Basic Combatives Course instruction. They taught additional ground fighting techniques and introduced throws and clinches.
TCC was also an opportunity for service members to talk about their experiences with other Soldiers. For Staff Sgt. Mario Huerta, the best moment was the tournament held March 2. "I got to put everything that I learned in this class, I got to put into use, from level one and level two. That's what I am taking away from this course," he said.
Throughout the course, students are also expected to demonstrate basic combative techniques and learn boxing, kickboxing and Muay Thai fundamentals.
"They learn how to facilitate and execute a combatives tournament. Eventually the training will improve the Soldier's ability to conduct hand-to-hand combat in scenarios like room clearing and vehicle extractions with full combat gear," said Melton.
After all the classes, Staff Sgt. William Chandler had more tools to use. "It (the training) gives you more experience and allows you to teach from experience," he said.
"Once Soldiers are TCC-certified, they are responsible for reviewing platoon-level trainers' training plans to ensure quality control and safety. They will serve as assistant instructors for the Basic Combatives Course certification," Melton said.
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